The Truth Will Catch Up With You
by peacefulsands
Summary: He's said it so often that it isn't really funny anymore. "Of course I can swim!  Danny/Steve


**Title** : The Truth Will Catch Up With You

**Author** : peaceful_sands

**Fandom** : Hawai'i 5-0

**Characters** : Danny/Steve, brief appearance by Chin and Kono and miscellaneous bad guy

**Rating** : PG-13

**Word Count** : approx. 1,800 words

**Prompt** : _Hawaii Five-0, Danny/Steve, "Of course I can swim"._

**Disclaimer :**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

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><p><strong><span>The Truth Will Catch Up With You<span>**

He'd said it so often that it wasn't really funny anymore. "Of course I can swim!" Indignation firmly in place as Steve pushed his buttons again and again. Being together hadn't change that either.

Yes, he could swim. It was no lie, well not a big one. He just prefered to swim in pools, where he could reach for the side or put his feet down when the water splashed in his face or he breathed the wrong way, somewhere away from tides and waves that splash him when he wasn't ready for it, and wildlife that might sting him or eat him or just accidentally drown him without even meaning him any harm. He most definitely didn't need to swim around Navy Seal-types who could probably swim across the Atlantic or from Hawai'i to the Mainland US without breaking a sweat. Okay, he knew that wasn't possible really, but there were lots of things he didn't think were possible before he met Steve and he was sure the man worked his way through lists of impossible feats just for the sheer hell of it.

But even on a bad day, there was nothing he wouldn't do for Steve; nothing at all. Swimming included.

What really pissed him off was that Steve, for once, did everything right – back up, plans, rules for storming boats – everything. And it still went wrong.

Steve led the way on board as they took the ship. The others crossed and spread out taking different parts of the boat ready to begin searching for the smuggled drugs and arms. Shots broke out near the back of the boat, but Danny was still following Steve for where they were sure the leader of this latest band of smugglers would be. Steve was being careful; there had been a rumor that they were smuggling people as well and Steve was determined there were going to be no civilian casualties today. Danny was right behind him on that score.

There were more shots exchanged, the sound of people being hit. No way their presence on board hadn't been noticed. Steve kicked open the door to the luxuriously appointed cabin and was met with a volley of shots. He was hit; Danny saw him stagger under the impact, but he didn't go down and instead he was picking off the guys inside one by one. Danny stepped closer, kept himself covered as he was able to start working on the guys inside as well. He could already see the man they wanted wasn't there, but there were plenty of his top level 'employees' to make it all worthwhile, plus whatever they retrieved from the holds downstairs.

It was a matter of moments before they had subdued the guys. They were either dead or injured, and Steve was already zip-tying his second one, when Danny got his act together and started to do the same on the other side of the room. There was only one more to go and Danny was already heading for him when Steve stood up and indicated he was heading out. They hadn't finished yet and Danny was going to be seconds behind him.

He hadn't forgotten that Steve was hit, but it couldn't be bad, Steve wasn't even slowing down yet. Seconds that was all, mere seconds behind him, but as he rounded the corner he saw Steve get hit round the head with a pipe. Momentum took him over the side of the boat and into the water and even before the splash of him going in, Danny had fired and Steve's attacker's brains were splattering across the deck, because nobody hurt Steve and got away with it.

Danny gave nothing more than a cursory check round to make sure there was no one else, before he rushed to the side and looked over. Steve was lying face down in the water and he wasn't moving. This was so not what Danny wanted to have to do, but there was no choice. There was no one else there right that instant; nobody else was anywhere near close enough

"Chin. Kono. Steve's gone overboard, I'm going in after him. Get someone to us quickly because –" He was grateful that he didn't actually have to waste time explaining, Chin had already interrupted him to say he was on his way.

Danny grabbed the life buoy that was hanging on the wall, threw it over and jumped in after it. He'd judged it okay, not only was the buoy right by him when he landed, but Steve was only a kick or two away. He could do this, he _could_ channel the panic that was building inside and focus it all on Steve. He had to.

It wasn't easy, Steve was not a lightweight but thankfully, the water kept him floating as Danny struggled to turn him. For a moment, Danny had to let go of the buoy and there was a surge of panic that it was going to be the end of them both because it was going to drift away before he could cling back on again. With one arm wrapped around it again and the other clinging to Steve, pulling him as close in as he could, Danny was struggling to find a position where he could check Steve's pulse, try to make sure he was breathing.

He heard the sound of an approaching boat, looked up and saw both Kono and Chin and he would swear he had never been so grateful for anything in his life. Chin was in the water before he could do anything else, moving Steve and positioning him so Kono and the others on board could pull him in. Then before Danny could say or do anything, Chin had got hold of him and had him half hoisted so the others could pull him in as well. Danny had no idea how he did it, but he was not saying anything because they were all on board and heading for safety.

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><p>Danny was beside his bed waiting and waiting for Steve to wake up. Gunshot wounds and concussions <em>and<em> near drowning it turned out were not good, even for wannabe superheros. Steve had been down for the count for a while, too long in Danny's book, but the doctors got him stabilized and now it was just a matter of waiting.

Sitting here alone beside Steve, Danny had been tempted to tell him all sorts of weird things. He had also contemplated the need to tell him the truth about the swimming because Steve couldn't rely on him to get him out of that kind of shit. The nearness of the disaster was weighing heavy and Danny knew it wouldn't lift until Steve was conscious at the least and maybe not even then.

Steve's eyelids fluttered and his hand twitched in Danny's grip. As Steve's eyes finally opened, Danny was already leaning forward, making sure that he was the first thing Steve saw. Danny watched as his eyes focused and tension eased from his face as he checked Danny over for injury. "Dumbass," Danny murmured softly. "You're the one who got hurt, not me!"

Steve gave a lazy, slightly unco-ordinated smile and his hand squeezed Danny's again.

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><p>Steve's home and Danny's been banging around the house for hours as if he's really pissed about something. Steve has no idea what it is, what he's done wrong now or how to fix it. He's confined to the sofa, not supposed to go anywhere without Danny's help and in honesty, he's so tired and he aches enough to be reluctant to try it. He just wishes Danny would come and settle down. Maybe Danny doesn't want to be here, maybe he's had enough.<p>

"Danny?" he calls, trying to make it more of a question than anything else.

Danny hurries through, dropping down beside him, instantly alert to anything he might need. Danny's hands are travelling over him as if he's not sure that Steve hasn't managed to do himself another potentially fatal injury while lying still on the sofa. Steve hates that he's done this to Danny, made him worry this much and he catches Danny's hands in his, brings one up to kiss the knuckles and is about to say something when Danny is pressing kisses to his neck and apologizing.

It takes a while for Steve to piece it all together. He can barely remember anything from when they boarded the boat. The doctors have said that as he recovers from the concussion, more should come back to him but for the minute that doesn't help as he has to try and understand what's got Danny so worked up.

Danny's hands are pulling away, flapping wildly as he gesticulates and illustrates how Steve fell overboard and how he had to come in afterwards and how that really was a bad idea and Steve shouldn't trust him with anything because he's a liar, a goddamned liar.

Steve still can't work out what the supposed lie is, because Danny's done everything right as far as he can tell. ". . . and I can't fuckin' swim. I can't." Danny's turning away as he finally gets the words out.

Steve's shocked. It had been a joke for so long that the importance of it got lost in the ongoing nature of it.

"You came into the water after me and you can't swim!" he gasps. "You idiot! You could have died! I can't lose you like that!"

There's a moment of silence as the two of them stare at each other, then Danny says, "You were dying, asshole!"

"I was?"

"You were. You were face down unconscious in the water."

"Oh," Steve is surprised. "So you saved me . . ." He cuts off Danny's attempt to say that Chin ended up saving them both. "You i_saved_/i me. Thank you." He pulls Danny closer and kisses him. Moments later, he pushes Danny back a bit so he can look in his eyes when he says, "Next time I say can you swim . . . the answer is no and then we can get right on to fixing it."

Steve lets out a breath of relief as Danny agrees. He shifts on the couch, making enough room alongside for Danny, who seems happy to take the opportunity. With his arms round him, Steve feels as finally all the tension bleeds away and Danny relaxes at last, knowing that the truth doesn't change what really matters between them.


End file.
